''Première rêverie'' (English: ''First Reverie''), also known in English as ''Whisperings of Love'', is a
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
by nineteenth-century French artist
William-Adolphe Bouguereau. The work was completed in 1889 and is held at the
New Orleans Museum of Art.
Background
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905) was a French
academic art
Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie d ...
ist who began his career at the
École des Beaux-Arts de Paris
The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Sciences ...
with depictions of Classical myths and legends, but soon came into demand in France and the United States for portraiture and decorative works. Although his work was ridiculed by contemporary artists such as
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings.
Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...
and
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
as overly finished and soft, Bouguereau was granted lavish praise during his lifetime, including multiple awards at the
Salon de Paris
The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...
.
Of his highly polished, idealistic style, in which he used models with porcelain-like skin and depicted provincial themes, Bouguereau said "There's only one kind of painting. It's the painting that presents the eye with perfection, the kind of beautiful and impeccable enamel you find in
Veronese
Veronese is the Italian word denoting someone or something from Verona, Italy and may refer to:
* Veronese Riddle, a popular riddle in the Middle Ages
* ''Veronese'' (moth), a moth genus in the family Crambidae
* Monte Veronese, an Italian chees ...
and
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
."
Description
''Première rêverie'', which measures 157.48 x 92.71 cm (62 x 36 1/2 in), features a young woman sitting on rock with a vase beneath her arm and a
Cupid
In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...
whispering into her ear. The model for this painting, whose identity is unknown, also featured in Bouguereau's ''Boucles d'oreilles'' (1889–90), ''
Le Travail interrompu'' (1891;
Mead Art Museum
Mead Art Museum houses the fine art collection of Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Opened in 1949, the building is named after architect William Rutherford Mead (class of 1867), of the prestigious architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. ...
), and ''Daphnis et Chloe''.
Legacy and provenance
Bouguereau completed ''Première rêverie'' in early 1889, naming it ''Le chant de l'Amour'' (''The Song of Love''). In May of that year the work was sold to the art dealership Tooth and Sons and renamed ''Première rêverie''. That August the dealership sold the painting to a person named Groves.
The painting was later gifted to the
New Orleans Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs.
Chapman H. Hyams
Chapman Henry Hyams, Sr. (21 July 1838, in Charleston – 19 April 1923, in New York) was an American stockbroker, art collector, and philanthropist.
Family
On April 26, 1893, Hyams' son, Chapman Henry Hyams, Jr. married Violet Victoria Hildreth. ...
; the museum's catalogue lists it as ''Whisperings of Love''.
Eyewitness Books
''Eyewitness Books'' (called ''Eyewitness Guides'' in the UK) is a series of educational nonfiction books. They were first published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley in 1988. The series now has over 160 titles on a variety of subjects, such a ...
' guide to New Orleans lists the painting as one of the top ten exhibits at the museum, and
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
considers the work one of Bouguereau's more important contemporary paintings.
In late 1889,
Gustave Doyen
Gustave Doyen (1836 in Festieux – 1923 in Fontainebleau) was a French painter working during 19th and 20th centuries in France. He was educated at St Edmund's College in Douai and trained by William Bouguereau. He exhibited his paintings i ...
, with some input from the Bouguereau, completed a reduction of ''Première rêverie''; this work, measuring , is now housed at the
Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens.
A print of Bougureau's painting, produced by
John Douglas Miller, is held at the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
under the title ''The First Whisper of Love'';
this title had previously been attached to the reduction when it was sold by Tooth and Sons.
In the ''
catalogue raisonné'' for Bouguereau, ''Première rêverie'' has number 1889/06, whereas the reduction is listed as number 1889/06A.
See also
*
William-Adolphe Bouguereau gallery
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Premiere reverie
Mythological paintings by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
1889 paintings
Paintings of Cupid
Paintings in Louisiana